Millipedes as clean-up crew???

David_F

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 9, 2004
Messages
1,764
Hey everybody,

Right now we seem to be having a plague of millipedes in KS. They are a small species, the largest being about 3-3.5 cm long and about 2 mm diameter. What I'm curious about is catching a few and using them as a clean-up crew in the tank I keep my C. hentzi in. I assume in the wild millis and scorps live in close proximity but in captive conditions does anyone think the defensive secretions of the millis could pose a problem for the scorps? BTW, I'll also be using Armadillium sp. (hope that's the correct spelling) in the tank. Sorry if this is the wrong forum but since I'm considering using them for a scorp tank I figured this was the right place.

Thanks in advance.
 

Kugellager

ArachnoJester of the Ancient Ones
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
2,363
I have heard of several people use pill bugs as clean up critters for keeping their enclosures clean...of course this works best in the more humid enclosures. I have accidently gotten some on my enlosures and they do in fact do a decent job of keeping things clean. To my knowledge they are not harmful int anyway to scorpions. I have actually had some juvenile scorpions eat a few of the pill bugs.

John
];')
 

Brian S

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
6,526
I keep a few pill bugs or rollie pollies in with my emperors and they do a good job. I am not sure about millipedes but I would assume it would be the same.
 

Nikos

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 30, 2002
Messages
1,224
I also keep rollie pollies and sawbugs in my lychas mucronatus enclosure and they are cleaning it with great success.
I had a dead lychas there and they ate him in 2 days.
Also any feeder remains are cleaned within hours!!!

I'll take a photo of the set-up and cose ups of the cleaning crew and post them in this thread.

P.S.: I haven't change the substrate for more than a year now....
 
Last edited:

David_F

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 9, 2004
Messages
1,764
Thanks for the info. I think I'll give the millis a try. Don't think they should cause too much of a problem. The scorps are never out anyway. Thanks again.
 

Stagger-Lee

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 20, 2004
Messages
170
yall do realise millipedes are a part of an emprors natural diet right :?
 

David_F

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 9, 2004
Messages
1,764
Stagger-Lee said:
yall do realise millipedes are a part of an emprors natural diet right :?
Hmmm...didn't know that. Thanks, that's interesting. Well, I guess if C. hentzi will eat them too then they will at least serve one purpose if they don't help the pill bugs to keep the tank clean.
 

Nikos

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 30, 2002
Messages
1,224
here are some photos of the clean up crew in my lychas mucronatus terrarium.

They will soon be introduced to other humid terrariums also such as heterometrus spp.

The little white bugs are called in german weisse asseln but I'm not sure how they are called in english...
 
Top